The other day an individual I worked with referred to another worker as the n-word and when I pointed out that I was black, he reiterated the Chris Rock distinction between black people a n*ggers. This individual also said, "I hate Spanish people.We live in America, they need to speak American." To which I replied, "That is a nationality, not a language." Anyway, I think I underestimated the effect that it can have on me, as I assumed I'd be used to racist rhetoric, but it is incredibly dispiriting and depressing. I was surprised at how it made me feel even days after these incidents had occurred. In any event, this thread is for comments directed towards you or comments you have heard of the racist variety.

The other day in English, a guy said that having Muslim airport security was ironic and not more than ten minutes later, a girl said that gays should not be in the military because they will be more likely to rape other people. Made me want to

The whole Chris Rock scenario is exactly why black people are stuck in this predicament. I am black and it burns me from the inside out when I hear other black people still using the n word towards each other. The Chris Rock thing only makes it worse b/c he is giving other races an excuse to continue to use bigotry. Another example is when Nas named his album N****er and expected people to just understand the point he was trying to make by naming his album that. It doesn't matter what reasoning you put behind using that language, you are giving everyone the okay to go ahead and use it as well. I've heard that word thrown around by all races my whole life, by people I considered friends, who said the same thing you did about how it didn't apply to 'all black people' and its disgusting. Ending ignorance ends with ourselves in our own communities and until that happens, shit's just going to keep getting worse.

The whole Chris Rock scenario is exactly why black people are stuck in this predicament. I am black and it burns me from the inside out when I hear other black people still using the n word towards each other. The Chris Rock thing only makes it worse b/c he is giving other races an excuse to continue to use bigotry. Another example is when Nas named his album N****er and expected people to just understand the point he was trying to make by naming his album that. It doesn't matter what reasoning you put behind using that language, you are giving everyone the okay to go ahead and use it as well. I've heard that word thrown around by all races my whole life, by people I considered friends, who said the same thing you did about how it didn't apply to 'all black people' and its disgusting. Ending ignorance ends with ourselves in our own communities and until that happens, shit's just going to keep getting worse.

Honestly, I've no problem with the use of the term between African-Americans, so long as it is used in terms of camaraderie; that is, one has a best friend and refers to them as "my n*gga".

Honestly, I've no problem with the use of the term between African-Americans, so long as it is used in terms of camaraderie; that is, one has a best friend and refers to them as "my n*gga".

You should have a problem with it. It's not endearing and its not friendly. It's detrimental to our growth as a race. We've managed to brainwash ourselves into thinking that and that's the saddest part.

I'm hispanic and during the time when the Arizona Immigration law was being protested I went online a lot and looked up information on it. There was a lot of websites where people could leave comments, and some of them were the most hateful, ignorant comments ever. It was, as the OP said, pretty dispiriting.

You should have a problem with it. It's not endearing and its not friendly. It's detrimental to our growth as a race. We've managed to brainwash ourselves into thinking that and that's the saddest part.

The word itself isn't the issue, it is a matter of what it represents, namely the material oppression of African-Americans.

The other day in English, a guy said that having Muslim airport security was ironic and not more than ten minutes later, a girl said that gays should not be in the military because they will be more likely to rape other people. Made me want to